Skin Deep
by City Girl Dreamer
Summary: In which Arthur discovers how insecure Alfred can be and decides to show him just how beautiful he truly is. Established USUK/UKUS.


**Because it has been AGES since I've written some USUK~! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Hetalia. End of._

**Warning: **_USUK and UKUS. Swearing. I always have that as a warning...umm, implied sex? I dunno..._

**ENJOY!**

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Skin Deep

Arthur knew that was something was wrong the minute they had stepped into Alfred's bedroom.

The American had turned off the lights, closed all the curtains, covered up all the mirrors and had firmly shut the bedroom door. The English businessman frowned slightly, half-confused and half-bewildered by Alfred's actions. It was midday on a Wednesday; Arthur had _just_ arrived in New York from a long nine-hour flight from London. He hadn't seen his fire-fighting boyfriend in the flesh for _six_ months. _Six_.

Naturally the first thing Arthur wanted to do, was to touch every inch of the boyfriend that he hadn't been able to touch for those past six months.

Of course, he also wanted to catch up with Alfred and of course he knew that they probably should take things slow, but damn it all to hell, Arthur was only going to be in New York for_ two weeks_. Going slow and easy was the last thing on his mind. He had missed Alfred something terrible and he wanted to spend as much time as possible being intimate and sappy with the man.

Skype and phone-calls could only go so far before the over-bearing cold feeling of loneliness started turning him crazy.

And crazy he was. As soon as Alfred had finished with his attempts of darkening the room as much as possible, Arthur had quite honestly thrown himself at Alfred, causing the American to stumble back slightly. He wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck and pulled the surprised American down for a kiss. Arthur could feel Alfred's smile as he deepened it, wrapping his own arms around Arthur's waist and blindly walked them both to the bed.

Alfred's knees hit the bed when he finally reached it, causing him to fall back and pull Arthur along with him.

Their kiss broke and Arthur gazed down at the America below him and smirked. "I hope this isn't your way of saying 'screw me darling' Alfred," he said wryly. Alfred laughed and stretched out, quirking a brow and grinning his perfect smile.

"Well...I was kinda going for a 'ride me darling' vibe, but I can guess we can take a rain check on that," Alfred said, his eyes gleaming daringly as he gazed up at his lover. Arthur hummed in amusement and his green eyes sparkled with joy.

"I would love to ride you," he purred. "But right now...I want nothing more than to just _fuck_ you." Arthur's eyes had darkened slightly as he spoke, causing Alfred's smile to grow and his excitement to shoot straight up through the roof.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Alfred asked, smirking as he sat up to tug Arthur's denim jacket off. The Englishman chuckled as he slipped out of the jacket and began to take off his shirt as well. Before he did, he glanced over and saw Alfred, leaning back on his elbows, just watching him undress. The Brit raised a brow and coughed slightly, gaining Alfred's attention.

"Excuse me sir, but are you not going to undress too? It will be slightly awkward if I were the only one naked," Arthur stated, grabbing Alfred by his belt and yanking him towards himself. Alfred gasped and chuckled, as he reached up to run a hand through Arthur's hair, letting it slide down to rest against his lover's cheek.

"You have a fair point," he murmured. Arthur snorted.

"It's a fairly obvious point. Now, get rid of those clothes before I burn them off for you," the Englishman said, his grin revealing his sharp wicked teeth. Alfred shivered at the sight of them and started to undo his belt instantly. Arthur's teeth were so lovely and for some reason, they were even lovelier when they were biting him. The American flung off his belt and started to work on his jeans, his eyes never leaving Arthur as the Brit slowly undressed.

Arthur shimmied out of his own jeans, letting them join the pile on the floor. He couldn't but glance over to Alfred every so often, his eyes drinking in the wonderfully tanned and toned legs as they appeared before him. He rolled his eyes when he saw that Alfred had sat back down on the bed and was waiting patiently for Arthur to finish. However, the Brit wrinkled his nose when he realised that Alfred still had his shirt on.

Arthur snorted. He wondered if this was Alfred's way of telling him that he wanted Arthur to take it off for him.

Honestly, the man was just so difficult sometimes.

Arthur, fully undressed and naked, slowly sunk down back onto the bed and crawled his way up Alfred's body. The American watched as Arthur's hips rolled with each move, as his eyes never wavered from his own and as his body grew closer and closer. Alfred sighed; Arthur's body was beautiful. He was stunningly pale with the odd freckle and blue-vein that showed up through his skin dotted about. His figure wasn't muscular or toned; rather it was lean and all sharp angles. But Alfred adored all those sharp angles, no matter how many times he felt like he was being stabbed whenever he made contact with Arthur's elbows.

He grasped Arthur's bony hips with his hands and pulled the Englishman in close. Their bodies brushed against each other at the same time their lips met. Arthur gasped into Alfred's mouth, allowing the American to slip his tongue in easily. Arthur hummed with delight as Alfred's tongue curled up and flicked at his own, sending shivers down the Englishman's spine. Their lips moved and puckered and slid in an off-beat rhythm, as the heat and passion grew between them.

"Ah-Alfred," Arthur sighed breathlessly. "I missed this."

Alfred's smile was bright and almost heart-breaking. "I missed you," he murmured back, nuzzling Arthur's neck with his nose as he breathed in the familiar scents of seat-salt and old-books. Alfred never even knew that old books had a scent...not until he had met Arthur anyway. He held his sweetheart close to him, relishing how warm and lovely the body was above him.

"Oh Alfred," Arthur whispered, "aren't you lovely?"

Alfred smirked. "I think I'm lovely enough to get another kiss."

"Cheeky," Arthur murmured and leant down to kiss Alfred's lips sweetly. It was soft and lingering and so very loving. Their tongues entwined lazily, their lips puckering slowly as Arthur ran his hands down to Alfred's hips. He wrinkled his nose; he had forgotten that the American was still wearing his shirt. Alfred however, hadn't seemed to notice. His hands were buried deep in Arthur's blond locks as his legs curled up around the Englishman's.

Breaking the kiss abruptly, Arthur gave the disappointed American a small smirk before leaning down again to nip at Alfred's pulse-point. The American gasped and arched his back slightly, his hands now sliding down to grip Arthur's bony shoulders.

"A-Arthur! What h-happened to y-you fucking m-me?" he asked, writhing from Arthur's ministrations. The Englishman had wonderfully sharp teeth and Alfred adored it when Arthur became slightly rough...but this felt almost tender. The way Arthur nipped quickly and then licked the little marks left behind slowly. The way his fingers were stroking circles around his hipbones. The way he would grind every so softly into Alfred's own body...

"Is foreplay not allowed when we fuck?" Arthur asked lowly, nuzzling Alfred's ear gently as he whispered the question into it.

The American shuddered. "O-Oh god. Arthur. I fucking love foreplay, you know I do...but if you don't get a move on, I will turn you over and fuck you myself!"

Arthur grinned. "Saucy. How about we try that one out later, hmm?" he said, his tone laced with amusement.

"Arthur," Alfred warned, his eyes darkening slightly. Arthur shivered as they changed, feeling Alfred's powerfully muscles ripple under his hands as the American grew impatient. The Englishman wouldn't mind being slammed down and taken as roughly as Alfred could get, but there was plenty of time for such play after he had his own turn.

"Fair enough," he sighed and stretched out along Alfred's body. "I'll get to it. But first thing's first." Arthur placed a sweet kiss to Alfred's jawline before crawling down the American's body towards his waist. The Englishman tapped away on Alfred's strong thighs, keeping his eye on Alfred's face. He teasingly ran up his fingers towards Alfred's groin, making the man tense up in anticipation.

Arthur wondered if Alfred would let him get away with taunting him again with foreplay; gazing at the man's face, he figured that it would be best to leave such an idea for later. The Englishman leant down to leave sweet, short kisses up along the inside of Alfred's thighs. His hands slowly ran up and under Alfred's shirt, making it rise up to reveal the beautifully tanned skin underneath. Arthur almost felt jealous of him; Alfred could tan as easily as Arthur could burn whenever the sun was out. Although, to be fair, Arthur hardly ever got burnt due to dear old England's wet and rainy terrain. Still, he couldn't help but taste the sharp tang of envy on his tongue when he leant down to nuzzle Alfred's delicious treasure-trail.

However as he did so, he felt himself being gently pushed away from that area. He glanced up and saw Alfred's eyes gazing up at the ceiling, a small frown on his face. It was an expression that seemed so different to the anticipated, almost excited one, he had seen mere seconds ago. Figuring that Alfred was just getting impatient again, Arthur merely shrugged and ducked down again.

Alfred's hands were firmly clutching at his shoulders and just as he was about to slip his hands under to feel the man's rippling abs, he felt Alfred's hands tense up and push him away. He glanced up again. Alfred released his shoulders and tucked both arms against his sides firmly. The American glanced over to Arthur and quirked a brow up in question.

Arthur frowned in confusion and shook his head. Alfred looked away again. The Englishman sighed and tried to slide his hands under the shirt again. This time, Arthur kept an eye on Alfred's face as he gently rubbed his hands over Alfred's warm and soft skin.

He barely reached the man's navel when he was once again pushed away. Arthur frowned when he saw Alfred physically flinch at being touched. The Brit sighed and leant back on his haunches. Alfred's eyes flickered over to him before the man flushed and glanced away again. Arthur's frown deepened as he went to touch the shirt again. Once more, Alfred flinched and that was even before Arthur's fingers had even brushed the fabric.

He sighed and retracted his hand. "Alfred," he sighed, keeping his voice calm and level. "How on earth do you expect us to have sex if you won't let me remove your clothes?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms.

Alfred snorted at the bluntness of the question and glanced away, his face flushed slightly. "Dude, if you haven't noticed, but my pants are totally off. You don't need my shirt off as well to have sex with me," he muttered, tugging down on his shirt slightly. "You can reach the important bits just fine with it on."

Arthur blinked. "'The important bits'? What are you, five? For goodness' sake Alfred, just let me take your shirt off," he said firmly, flicking away Alfred's hands so he could start lifting the shirt up. He had hoped that by doing this, then Alfred would get the message that he really wanted to see his boyfriend's sexy body and now, pretty please.

"Woah!" Alfred cried out, pushing Arthur's hands away and shuffling farther up the bed. "The shirt doesn't have to come off, so leave it on!"

Arthur frowned and folded his arms. "Alfred, you're being childish. Just let me take the damn shirt off so we can get back to having sex, okay?" he instructed. Alfred wrinkled his nose.

"We can have sex right now. You don't need to have all your clothes off to have sex," he stated.

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose, irritated now with Alfred's stubborn nature. "Take. The fucking. Shirt off. Now," he bit out through gritted teeth.

"No! Dude, could you just quit it! The shirt stays on," Alfred said, his voice wavering as it rose in pitch. Arthur stared at him for a while before shaking his head and moving to leave the bed. "W-What...where are you going?"

Arthur glanced over his shoulder, his features twisted into a scowl. "Obviously you have some issues and obviously you don't trust me enough to talk through said issues. And I refuse to sleep in the same bed as someone who really doesn't trust me," he stated and started to climb off the bed. Alfred watched him with shocked eyes, knowing full well that if he allowed Arthur to leave now, then tomorrow was going to be awkward as hell.

"Wait!" Alfred said quickly, lashing out a hand and latching onto Arthur's wrist. "I...I guess I do have some issues, but...it's not that I don't trust you enough to tell you them, it's just that I'm...you're...it's stupid!" he said firmly. "It's just a stupid issue and I'll get over it, just don't leave me. 'Kay?"

Arthur frowned "I'll be the judge of whether or not your issue is stupid, got it?" he said, his fierce green eyes almost glowing. Alfred nodded in response. "Good. Now, you're going to tell what is wrong, I am going to help you get over this problem of yours and then I am going to carry on with what I started. Got it?" he asked, quirking a brow. Once again, Alfred nodded. Arthur sighed and perched back down on the bed. "Alright. Start speaking."

Alfred blinked at the abrupt command and flushed. "R-Right. Well...Arthur. Can I ask you a question first?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. Arthur blinked and shrugged. Alfred took that as Arthur's way of saying 'yes'. "Okay. Um, Arthur...do you love me?" Alfred's tone was uncertain and wavering slightly. Arthur's frown deepened and he shuffled closer to his boyfriend.

"Alfred," he said in a hushed voice. "I utterly adore you. Every day spent away from you almost killed me. You cannot even imagine how deep my feelings for you are."

The American flushed from the sweet tone of Arthur's voice. "W-Why do you love me?" he asked, averting his eyes from embarrassment. Arthur clicked his tongue and reached forward to lift up Alfred's face. Seeing those beautiful blue eyes, Arthur sighed and leant in for a chaste kiss.

"I love you because you're the sweetest, loveliest person I have ever met. You try so hard to make me happy and in turn you make me want to make you happy as well. You're simply charming and you're always willing to help people. You have a slightly annoying, yet wonderfully sweet, habit of bringing home strays and you've appeared to make it your personal mission in life to adopt every single bloody stray in the world," Arthur murmured. "But I adore that about you. I love how big your heart is and how warm you are as a person. You never fail to make me laugh or smile. You always make my send my heartbeat racing. Even when we're arguing or being stupid, you still manage to take my breath away because dammit Alfred, I fucking love you."

Arthur's voice never rose in volume, never changed from the genuine tone and the soft whisper...and it caused Alfred's face to light up in a dusky pink.

"W-Woah," Alfred said breathlessly. "Y-You...oh shit, Arthur." The American sniffed slightly and glanced down at his lap, feeling his face burn underneath Arthur's hands. His gaze flickered back up to Arthur and he almost choked on what he saw. Those bright green emeralds were shining with love...all for him.

Just for him.

"I love you Alfred."

Alfred felt the tears prick his eyes but he clenched them shut to prevent any from falling. He had one last question left...just one.

"A-Arthur...would you still love me if," he paused, opening his eyes to gaze straight into Arthur's bright green ones. "Would you still love me...if I...were to become..._fat_."

Arthur flinched.

Fat?

Alfred was worried about being...fat?

The Englishman shuddered slightly. It was such an ugly word.

Fat.

He felt as if the word was just hanging in the air between them.

Alfred's body was so still, his eyes still boring into Arthur's. The Englishman thought he must have misheard at first, but gazing into Alfred's face told him that he had heard perfectly. The Brit swallowed and blinked, wondering how to go about this correctly. However...he just couldn't get his head around it. How did his beautiful, smart and witty boyfriend become so...insecure about himself?

Unless.

Some motherfucker must have said something.

_Bastards_.

Arthur sighed, his eyes softening as he inched closer to Alfred. "Darling," he started. "I would love you no matter what. Your body is your own and I would love you regardless of whatever might happen to your body. I love the man who can make me smile and laugh and cry...sometimes all at once. I love the man who is so lovely and special to me and I would do anything for him. I didn't fall in love with that man because of his body. I fell in love with that man because of him. And that man, to me, no matter what...will always be loved by me. Because he is _perfect_."

Alfred sucked in a quivering breath and glanced down to his lap. "Th-Thank you," he whispered, his body now shaking once more. Arthur bit his lip and leant down to press a loving and sweet kiss to the crown of Alfred's head. He breathed in the wonderful scents of salty french-fries and freshly mown grass.

They stayed like that for a while, with Arthur holding Alfred close to him and pressing small kisses to his face. The American's breathing eventually evened out, his body slowly calming down and his own arms began to curl around Arthur's waist, pulling the Englishman close to him. Arthur smiled and stroked Alfred's hair out of his face, tucking the longer locks behind his ear.

"May I ask you a question?" the Englishman asked, leaning down to quietly whisper it into the American's ear. His breath tickled Alfred, making him squirm and push Arthur away gently. He looked up to Arthur and shrugged.

"Sure," he said, his big blue eyes open and trusting. Arthur smiled and sat back on his haunches again.

"Did someone...say something to you?" he asked. "Did they...insult you?"

Alfred blinked.

Then he averted his eyes, shifted uncomfortably and fisted his hands into the sheets beneath him. "Um, well...someone did say something," he admitted. "But I guess it was my fault really. I kinda...started it."

Arthur raised his brows. "You...started it?" he asked. "What did you start and whom did you start it with?"

"Ivan," Alfred said slowly and quietly. "We were at work and it was a busy day. We were called out to about five fires that needed dealing with and three of them were really bad. At the end...everyone was just totally wrecked. Me and Ivan...uh, Ivan and I started having a bit of an argument. You know, like we normally do to let off steam. But...I guess we went too far."

Arthur kept quiet. He knew how highly-strung and stressed out Alfred could be after a day of fire-fighting. It made Arthur worry just thinking about it; his boyfriend had a tendency of taking his stress out on other people if he wasn't able of taking it out on a punching-bag in the gym. The Englishman sighed and reached up to stroke Alfred's cheek lovingly.

"Go on," he prompted.

Alfred nodded. "Um...well, I said some stuff. He said some stuff. Then I said something really bad. Something shitty about his sister's looks...I can't really remember what I had said, but he just snapped. He got me by my shirt and slammed me up against a wall, hissing all this shit at me."

"What did he say?" Arthur asked, his thumb consistently rubbing circles along Alfred's cheekbone.

"He said...that I didn't have much room to talk. That I was getting...fat. So fat that my 'pretty little English boy' would be revolted by the mere sight of me. It was a 'true fact' he said. Then I said more shit and then he said more shit. Then we duked it out and all was well. But I just couldn't get his words out of my head. They really fucking hurt and I just...all I could see in my mirror was this...lump and you looking all disgusted and shit," Alfred rambled and ended lamely in a mere whisper.

Arthur's face was slightly flushed from being referred to as a 'pretty little English boy'; that had to be a new one, he was pretty sure of that. Shaking his head, Arthur lifted up Alfred's chin and kissed him sweetly. "I'm not disgusted with you. Although, I don't exactly approve of you taking your stress out on your work colleague. He may very well save your life one day," he said sternly. Alfred smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I know," he murmured. Arthur hummed and tapped him on the nose sharply.

"I hope you also know that Ivan was probably very angry with what you had said about his sisters and maybe that's why he said that to you. He didn't mean it, just like I hope you didn't mean whatever you said about Katyusha and Natalia," the Englishman said. Alfred snorted softly.

"'Course I didn't mean it. Katyusha is too freaking nice and Natalia has the ability to gut me with her nails. Dude, I would never say anything nasty about them and mean it," Alfred stated. "But...I guess I see your point. It still hurt though. I was going out of my mind wondering about what you would think about me and whether or not I was really getting fat."

Arthur furrowed his brows. "How long ago did this happen?" he asked quietly.

Alfred shrugged. "'Bout...three months ago?" he said.

"Alfred!" Arthur scolded, smacking his boyfriend on the arm lightly. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"I thought you would laugh at me!" Alfred said indignantly. Arthur clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"Idiot, I thought you trusted me," he stated, mildly put out that Alfred actually believed that he would have done that.

The American blinked and bit his lip. "I do," he said. "Honestly...I really, really do."

"If you honestly did trust me, then you would have trusted me not to laugh at your problems. No matter how foolish you think they are, I would never laugh at you Alfred. I would never do anything to directly hurt you. Understand?" Arthur asked. Alfred just nodded.

"Yeah, I get it. Heh...I probably ruined the mood now, right?" the American asked, laughing lightly. Arthur just shook his head.

"If you think for one moment that we aren't going to finish, then you are sorely mistaken," Arthur muttered. Alfred quirked a brow and shifted up the bed, his eyes sparkling with unhidden excitement.

"Really?" he asked. Arthur nodded.

"Of course. But first...I want to open the curtains. No one is going to see you but me and quite frankly, I'm okay with that fact," Arthur stated. "May I go open them?"

Alfred blinked. Then he smiled his perfectly charming smile. "Sure. As long as you're the only one," he stated, shrugging. "I don't really want anyone else seeing me like this except you, so I'm cool with that. As long as no one sees _you_ like this as well."

The Englishman snorted and climbed off the bed. "Darling, no one has seen so much as my tattoo, except you. So, no need to worry, okay?" he stated as he gently pulled the curtains open. Luckily, Alfred's windows overlooked his large garden, so there wasn't a chance of Arthur accidentally flashing a neighbour.

Alfred smirked at his words. Arthur had a very small tattoo of an electric-guitar curling around the side of a Tudor-rose. He had questioned it once and all he got in response was Arthur muttering something about never drinking whiskey around his brothers again.

"I never worry about you," Alfred said, watching as his lover stalked back to the bed, his slinky hips rolling with each step.

"Good," Arthur stated as he climbed back onto the bed and straddled Alfred's hips firmly. "Now, let's get back to business, shall we?"

Alfred snorted at how formal Arthur sounded. "Sure," he said. "I've waited six freaking months to get fucked by you!"

Arthur tutted. "Darling, I am not going to 'fuck' you," he stated, shaking his head. Alfred's face fell in disappointment.

"You're not?" he asked in disbelief.

"Nope, I've changed my mind," Arthur stated. "I want to _make love_ to you."

Alfred blinked. "S-Shit...Arthur. You really don't have to—" he started but Arthur held up a finger to his lips.

"I want to," he said quietly and then he fingered the hem of Alfred's shirt lightly. "May I take this off now?"

Alfred swallowed hard.

"U-Um...I...uh, g-go on. Just...do it."

Arthur nodded.

He slipped off Alfred's shirt quickly, figuring that the American would want it done as quickly as one would yank off a plaster. There was less pain that way. Arthur pulled the shirt up and over Alfred's head and threw it over his shoulder. He didn't know where it landed and he didn't care.

All he knew was that Alfred was naked before him and he looked—

The American bit his lip.

—_stunning_.

He sighed, almost dreamily too, at the sight before him. Alfred was well-formed due to relentless training session at the gym. However, Arthur could still see that his lover was quite...round in certain places. His unhealthy diets never did much for him and Arthur was always telling him to cut down. The Englishman wondered if Alfred ever interpreted his words as him saying that the American was fat. Arthur scoffed internally; he would never say such things to Alfred. He only ever said it because he was scared of Alfred's health failing him.

Arthur already had to worry about Alfred being a fire-fighter; he definitely didn't want to worry about his American having poor health as well.

"Arthur?" a voice prompted him out of his thoughts.

The Englishman glanced down. Alfred was gazing up at him, almost questioningly, as if he wanted Arthur's opinion on how he looked. Arthur smirked and leant down, placing a gentle kiss on Alfred's stomach. "I adore this part of you," he murmured to Alfred, his lips brushing against the quivering skin.

Alfred swallowed and grinned. "Y-Yeah?" he asked, his voice wavering slightly. "What else do you adore about me?"

Arthur hummed and reached forward to place a kiss on Alfred's collarbone. "I like this bit," he said, and then moved on to Alfred's pectorals. "I like these as well." Arthur placed a kiss on each one, his tongue darting out to give each nipple a teasing lick. "I also like this bit." A sweet kiss to Alfred's navel. "I really like this bit." A brief kiss to his treasure-trail. "These bits never fail to turn me on." A kiss to each hipbone. "And then...there's this place. My favourite place of all."

A long, lingering kiss was pressed to the centre of Alfred's chest.

"M-My chest?"

"Your heart."

Alfred choked slightly. Arthur's eyes were filled with love and sweet tenderness and so much genuine affection. All for him. He reached up and brought Arthur's face down for a long, wet and lingering kiss. His tongue reached in deep, flicking up tease the top of Arthur's mouth and then going in deeper to play with Arthur's tongue. Their pants were heavy and heated and Arthur needed air now before he fainted from how passionate their kiss was getting.

He pulled away, chest heaving lightly. Alfred grinned at how dazed he looked.

"Hey Arthur?"

"...y-yes?"

"Make love to me?"

Arthur blinked.

He smiled.

"Of course."

Arthur reached over for the lube. He popped the lid open and went to pour it over his fingers. Arthur paused though and glanced down at Alfred. His face was flushed and his eyes were darkened and heavy-hooded with his mouth gaping and lightly panting. Arthur hummed shortly before reaching down and cupping the American's face.

"Hey Alfred," he murmured. Alfred glanced up. "Guess what?"

The American blinked wearily. "W-What?"

Arthur smiled. "To me, you're the single-most gorgeous man in the entire world. And _that's_ a true fact."

* * *

**Done~! ^_^**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Perty please review if you did~!**

**Love City Girl**

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